Osan fire department honors firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001

Photo By Master Sgt. Chad Thompson | “We will never forget” is a phrase many Americans have heard thousands of times since Sept. 11, 2001, but for some the words go a bit deeper. The 51st Civil Engineer Squadron fire department held a ceremony to remember and honor the firefighters who lost their lives that fateful day.
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OSAN AIR BASE, 26, SOUTH KOREA

09.11.2011

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — “We will never forget” is a phrase many Americans have heard thousands of times since Sept. 11, 2001, but for some the words go a bit deeper.

The 51st Civil Engineer Squadron fire department held a ceremony here Sept. 11, 2011 to remember and honor the firefighters who lost their lives that fateful day.

“Today marks the 10th anniversary of the attack on New York City’s Twin Towers,” said Tech. Sgt. Paul Garcia. “We are here today to honor those who gave some…and the 343 firefighters who gave all and sacrificed their lives to save others.”

The remembrance ceremony began with a tradition that dates back to the 1800s, “Striking the Four Fives.”

Long before today’s electronics' age and fire alarms, daily messages were passed from fire house to fire house by a system of bells and telegraph.

When a firefighter died in the line of duty, headquarters would transmit five bell strikes, repeated four times. This custom has continued through the years and is still used as a form of rendering final honors to departed comrades, Garcia said.

The somber silence was extinguished as the series of bell strikes echoed throughout the Osan firehouse. The rain falling outside seemed befitting of this day, as these brave warriors remembered their brothers and sisters who sacrificed everything the Osan skies wept with them.